SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Transportation held an informational meeting Tuesday for the public regarding the potential Teays Valley Road widening project.

Residents came into Teays Valley Christian School to ask engineers questions about the project that aims to widen the busy corridor from Great Teays Boulevard to Apple Lane.

The widening effort comes after residents and businesses made it known that the road needed updated, as there are no areas to walk or bike, and according to WVDOT Assistant Director of Engineering Dirar Ahmad, multiple curves have caused problems.

“We kept getting complaints that people speed a lot and there are a couple of curves that are not the best. and the side distance is not great. So, this is how the project originated,” Ahmad said.

One of the larger components of the DOT’s preferred alternative is the installation of four roundabouts. The roundabouts would be located on Great Teays Boulevard, Erskine Lane, Hidden Valley Drive, and Scott Lane.

Since last summer, the DOT has been reaching out to businesses, EMS personnel, local schools, HOA’s, and more, all in an effort to find out what the community wanted to see in an upgrade. Ahmad says they got the feedback they were looking for.

“They said the number one thing is safety,” Ahmad said. “Number two is, we want to be able to walk if we want to walk, we want to be able to ride a bike if we want to ride a bike, and we really need to address some drainage issues.”

While the DOT got the feedback they were looking for from stakeholders, some residents at Tuesday’s meeting weren’t thrilled with the plans put forward.

“With the plans, it looks like it’s only going to be like five feet from our front door, where the road is going to be, so what are they going to do? How much of our land are they going to take or what are the steps in that?” resident Bryan Morrison said.

Sean Schoolcraft, a beekeeper who claims he owns nearly a tenth of the property that needs taken out, says he was not one of the businesses contacted.

“You can’t move beehives, that’s not the way it works. Yo9u can’t just pick them up, move them, and then they’ll be happy there the next day. They’ll abscond, they’ll move out and they’ll die,” Schoolcraft said. “They’re going to take my bee business from me in this situation. It’s unacceptable.”

Schoolcraft said he was ready to have the conversation about the DOT eliminating a dangerous, sharp, left-handed turn near a part of his property, but he wasn’t prepared for the idea of roundabouts.

“I expected to come here and hear, ‘we’re going to take a little bit of that field and we’re going to straighten that out.’ I got that and I understood that was fully accepted to start having that conversation, but to now know that they’re going to try to drop a roundabout, which takes over a large part of my property, is unacceptable,” Schoolcraft said.

While the apprehension is there on Schoolcraft’s end, Ahmad says his experience shows that residents oftentimes come around to the idea of roundabouts.

“Sometimes with not knowing, there is anxiety of something different. We understand that,” Ahmad said. “We did a project in Fairmont where we put two roundabouts. The public was 80% against it. After we opened it and they drove it, over 80% of the public was in favor of it. In fact, we kept getting calls and requests to eliminate the signals and they want roundabouts everywhere.”

As of now, construction for the Teays Valley Road widening project is slated for fall of next year.

Citizens can submit written comments regarding the project until March 27at teays-valley-hdr.hub.arcgis.com/pages/public-involvement